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    I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend
    I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend
    I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend
    Audiobook8 hours

    I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend

    Written by Cora Harrison

    Narrated by Alison Larkin

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Bestselling novelist Cora Harrison’s light historical romance in the form of a secret diary was inspired by real life events in the Austen family and will delight Jane Austen fans everywhere. When fifteen-year-old Jane Austen’s shy cousin Jenny comes to stay, their evenings are a blur of beautiful dresses, balls, gossip and romance; their days are spend writing about them—Jenny in her diary, Jane in her witty first attempts at fiction. When Jenny falls utterly in love with a handsome naval officer who better to help her than Jane herself, already an expert in love and relationships? With Alison Larkin’s delightful narration, you’ll feel yourself transported to 1791, meeting Jane Austen at age 16, and experiencing what life was like in that long-ago time.

    This delightful, meticulously researched novel is followed by an afterword about the actual people and events on which the novel is based, including Jane Austen’s disabled brother, George and the whirlwind courtship of Jane (Jenny) Cooper.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlison Larkin Presents
    Release dateSep 25, 2018
    ISBN9781982730314
    Author

    Cora Harrison

    Cora Harrison turned to writing historical fiction after she retired from teaching to live on a farm near the Burren in the west of Ireland. As well as the Reverend Mother series, she is the author of the 'Mara' series of Celtic mysteries, set in sixteenth-century Ireland, and the new Gaslight mystery series set in Victorian London. www.coraharrison.com

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    Reviews for I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend

    3.5/5

    44 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I absolutely adored this book, from start to finish. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourites so I was really interested to read the author's take on young Jane. Everything about this book was just lovely... from the gorgeous cover to the writing that flowed really well. I enjoyed all the characters and really felt like I got to know them. The book was charming, witty and just fun to read. I loved the story of Jenny and Jane- they were both portrayed excellently. I was also glad to see the author's note at the end as I had definitely been wondering what was true and what the author made up, and it was nice to know.

      For more of my reviews and recommendations, visit my blog: here
    • 1/5
      I didn't like the picture of the Austen family that this presented, so I didn't finish it.
    • 2/5
      I found this book to be slow and the characters to be dull and not compelling. I didn't find that it resembled a Jane Austen book at all.
    • 3/5
      very cool :)
    • 4/5
      The story talks about Jenny Cooper, a poor orphan girl and Jane Austen’s cousin, who for a short period of time begins living with the Austen family. There, she will find out what friendship, love, and beautiful dresses are. When I first heard about this book, I was really curious, because I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen’s novels. Especially, I was excited to meet Jane Austen as a main character of a story, instead of a writer. And I wasn’t disappointed.The story is really sweet, sometimes a little predictable, but really nice and easy to read. Sometimes I felt I was reading a book by Jane. I really enjoyed learning more about Austen’s life, especially when she was a teenager, and learn things about her, that I didn’t know. I highly recommend this book to all people who likes Jane Austen, and want to know more about her, and to those who enjoy fiction books with a little of truth on it.
    • 4/5
      Based on historical characters and events from Jane Austen's girlhood, this novel does a better job than most to evoke the feel of a Jane Austen novel. The story begins with Jane and her cousin Jenny at a strict boarding school. Jane has fallen ill with a fever, and the headmistress refuses to notify Jane's parents. Jenny slips out late at night to post a letter to Jane's mother. On the streets of Southampton she is nearly accosted by some unsavory characters, but finds a protector in gallant naval captain Thomas Williams. Jenny's mission is successful, the girls are removed from the school, but Jenny's secret fear is that Captain Williams will mention seeing her on the streets late at night, thereby ruining her reputation. Of course, Jenny will probably never see Captain Williams again . . . or will she?This novel in diary format, with accompanying sketches, does a good job overall of maintaining the feeling of the period. The author takes some liberties with characterization and ages of characters, and downplays Jane's closeness with her sister Cassandra in order to highlight her friendship with Jenny. The story is lighter fare than novels by Austen, but will certainly be enjoyed by teens who have read those works, as well as readers who enjoy historical romances.